Pennsylvania Schools

    In a historic move, Pennsylvania’s governor added $1.8 billion to the school budget for the 2006-07 school year, budgeting a total of $8.7 billion—an increase of 36% over the 2005-06 school year. This funding does not include federal funding of $5.5 billion from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act of 2001. The 2006-07 budget includes full funding for a new science curriculum to raise science test scores in elementary school.

Pennsylvania is making excellent progress in making sure no child is left behind. According to the Pennsylvania department of education, “Of the 663 schools still operating today where less than 50% of students were proficient in reading and math in 2001-02, 387 – or 58% - met [their Adequate Yearly Progress requirements] or were Making Progress in 2005-2006, as compared to 29% in 2002-03.” In the 2002-03 school year, over 70% of school districts were under warnings based on the NCLB criteria. In 2005-06, the state, districts, and schools had dropped the percentage to less than 2%. Only 8% of Pennsylvania schools are under the warning designation.

Pennsylvania is ranked 11 out of 50 in the Smartest State rankings, based on information gathered by Morgan Quinto, and published in the book “Education State Rankings, 2005-06.” Quinto ranks states using 21 factors including positive outcomes to changes made, personal attention by teachers, and student performance.

For more information on Pennsylvania schools, or a specific school report card, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Education website at http://www.pde.state.pa.us.